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This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations.   61. Pixies, Surfer Rosa. 4AD – 803 (UK) (1988), MoFi ‎– MFSL 1-296 (2009), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: alternative, garage rock, noise pop, punk The words garage, punk, and noise rarely go hand in hand with audiophile, and yet this second release by the Bostonian band encompasses exactly... Read More »

Dodd's DSD Discoveries #27 "Requiems – Crossing Over, Saying Farewell" Bill Dodd Starting in our Issue 96, Positive Feedback added to its music review community select contributions from NativeDSD.com's writers. Bill Dodd's essay was originally published as part of his ongoing blog series, "Dodd's DSD Discoveries," over at NativeDSD.com.  I enjoy Bill's well-informed and thoughtful selections from among the... Read More »

Self-released and available at b3jazz.com; CD $12.97, digital download $9.99 "My name is Kevin Gerzevitz and I play the Hammond Organ. I've learned through my fellow organist Robert Kennedy that you write reviews of jazz recordings. I am a member of a group called B3B4. We are based in the San Francisco Bay Area and... Read More »

Casey, Where I Go When I'm Sleeping. Hassle Records. Casey is an emotional melodic hardcore band from South Wales, United Kingdom. Their second full-length album, Where I go When I'm Sleeping, is a continuation of the band's journey through music. The album builds upon the overall sound of the band, nailing down their feel and... Read More »

In recent years there have been major changes in the music industry. Sales of optical discs have declined while interest in other ways to get music albums including music downloads, streaming and formats like LPs and even Analog Tape are on the upswing with sales of some albums reissued on LP by Mobile Fidelity reaching... Read More »

Gabriel Mervine's People, Places, and Things. Synergy Records SMCD 80040-2, 80043-2 and 80044-2, CD $12.98 each at Amazon.com Before I can introduce you to Gabriel Mervine, an incredible and ambitious jazz trumpet/flugelhorn player and composer, I have to introduce you to Uncle Don. He's not my uncle, by the way. Don Marsh is Colleen's uncle,... Read More »

John Huxhold and Eric Meyer With this contribution, Positive Feedback adds more to its music review community select contributions from NativeDSD.com's volunteer writers. This review was originally published as part of the "Call for Reviewers" programme initiated by NativeDSD.com. Eight carefully selected DSD listening reviewers have been writing for Blog.NativeDSD.com since late 2017. The focus... Read More »

Pal Szatmari With this contribution, Positive Feedback adds to its music review community select contributions from NativeDSD.com's volunteer writers. This review was originally published as part of the "Call for Reviewers" programme initiated by NativeDSD.com. Eight carefully selected DSD listening reviewers have been writing for Blog.NativeDSD.com since late 2017. The focus of these writers will... Read More »

It's good to have our dear friend John Marks back in our pages again. As always, he brings light and insight to music that's worthy of our careful attention. A valuable guide, he! In this essay, he covers the Harmonia Mundi recording of Stile Antico's performance of de Victoria's exploration of the passion of the Christ... Read More »

Once again our friend and guide John Marks leads us into interesting and educational musical terrain. This time, the great master Glenn Gould is featured, with meditations upon his creative performing focus. I always learn from John's commentary; I am sure that you will, as well. (Although I must calmly disagree with Gould's eschewal of... Read More »

SCHMIDT: Symphony No. 2 in E flat. STRAUSS: Dreaming by the Fireside (Symphonic interlude from Intermezzo). Vienna Philharmonic/Semyon Bychkov. Sony Classics 88985355522.  TT: 55.14 Downloads: amazon.com (mp3); hdmusic.pw (FLAC); highresaudio.com (not available in U.S.); myopenmp3.com (mp3); prestoclassical.co.uk (FLAC, mp3); primephonic.com (WAV, FLAC; not available in U.S.) The composer Franz Schmidt, while renowned in his native Vienna during his... Read More »

Mozart, Violin Sonatas, Nos. 5, 6, 7, 28, 35; Variations in G minor; Sonata in B flat Major, 570. Alina Ibragimova, violin. Cédric Tieberghien, piano. Hyperion CDA 68175. (2 CDS for price of one). Alina Ibragimova plays Mozart as if he is at the center of her repertoire. He suits her refined tone and willingness... Read More »

I'll start off by describing my experience with reel-to-reel, which spans several decades. In 1979, I acquired a Pioneer RTR deck from my brother-in-law—he had no idea how to use it, and I believe we just traded some stuff back and forth. It worked almost flawlessly, although one of the channels had a habit of... Read More »

This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations. 56. Borodin, Symphony no.2 / Rimsky-Korsakoff – Capriccio Espagnole The London Symphony Orchestra, Jean Martinon. RCA Victor Red Seal – LSC-2298 ­(1959), Classic Records – LSC-2298 (1996?), 180g, Living Stereo series, Genre: classical, orchestral, romantic. Tightly led and influenced by Mily Balakirev, Alexander Borodin—the eldest of 'The Five'—along... Read More »

Regular readers of High Fidelity remember, I hope, the texts from two and three years ago, which served (me and the editor-in-chief of HF, Wojciech Pacula) to present the best albums of mainstream music (read HERE). However, we did not write about the discs, that were the best music of 2017 "in our opinion", but about those... Read More »

Noa Fort, No World Between Us. Self-released, CD $15, available at https://noafort.bandcamp.com/album/no-world-between-us I've been really hard on contemporary jazz singers lately. Most of them are extremely talented, but I always feel like I need a little more from them. If they're going to raid the Great American Songbook, they should come up with a unique approach that... Read More »

Takaaki, New Kid in Town. Albany Records B076F3X5GJ, CD $16.99 amazon.com If you're an audiophile, you're probably already familiar with the 70s jazz recordings from Japan's Three Blind Mice label. I'm lucky enough to own several of these titles on LP—everything from Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's legendary Midnight Sugar and Misty to Isao Suzuki's Blue City to Hideto Kanai's Q... Read More »

"Om, Om, Om..." Dr. Johnson's chanting workshop at the Chicago ZenSonic Center was nearly over. I opened my eyes and noticed the guy next to me was standing several inches off the floor. Eager to learn how he had developed his practice, I waited by the exit to introduce myself. I was gobsmacked to discover... Read More »

This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations. 51. MFSB, Love Is the Message. Philadelphia International Records – KZ 32707 (1973), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: Philly soul, disco, smooth jazz After nearly 45 years—wherein the world holds its breath under the genuine threat of eroding freedoms, and escalating nuclear war—MFSB's message still rings true and maybe... Read More »